On May 3, security forces arrested Shahrabi, a reporter and radio host for the state-owned outlet Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), after raiding his father’s house in the capital, Tehran, and confiscating his and his family’s personal and electronic items, including the journalist’s computer and notebook, according to news reports.

Shahrabi is currently detained in Tehran’s Evin Prison. CPJ was unable to determine why he was arrested or whether he had been formally charged.

“Iranian authorities must free journalist Sajjad Shahrabi immediately and unconditionally and cease the practice of arbitrarily locking up members of the press,” said CPJ Program Director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, in New York. “Shahrabi’s detention shows, shamefully, that authorities do not find it necessary to disclose even a minimum of details about why a reporter has been arrested.”

He also hosts a weekly satirical sports program called “Toop/ball” for the state-run Radiojavan.ir.

Since mid-April, Iran authorities have arrested at least three other journalists. CPJ emailed Iran’s mission to the United Nations for comment but did not receive any reply.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

The statement calls on the Bangladesh government to immediately suspend the use of the draconian Digital Security Act pending its repeal or amendment in line with international human rights law. The DSA has repeatedly been used against journalists in retaliation for their work on topics including governmental policies, corruption, and illicit business practices.

The statement notes the March arrest of Shamsuzzaman Shams, a correspondent for the newspaper Prothom Alo, under the DSA and the subsequent DSA investigations opened into Shams, Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, executive editor Sajjad Sharif, an unnamed camera operator, and other unidentified people in connection to Shams’ reporting on price hikes. Shams has since been released on bail.

The statement expresses concern regarding the weaponization of other laws against journalists and the media, noting the ongoing investigation of Prothom Alo special correspondent Rozina Islam under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and the penal code in apparent retaliation for her reporting on alleged government corruption and irregularities in the public health sector at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full statement here.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.

In the early morning of Wednesday, March 29, authorities arrested Prothom Alo correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams under the Digital Security Act for allegedly spreading “false news” in a March 26 article.

On Wednesday evening, authorities in the capital city of Dhaka opened another DSA investigation into Prothom Alo editor Matiur Rahman, Shams, an unnamed camera operator at the outlet, and other unidentified people, according to news reports, Prothom Alo executive editor Sajjad Sharif, who spoke to CPJ by phone, and a copy of the first information report launching that investigation, dated March 29 at 11:10 p.m., which CPJ reviewed.

Also on Wednesday, Mithun Biswas, a lawyer based in southern city of Chittagong, issued a legal notice to Rahman, Sharif, and Shams demanding they unconditionally and publicly apologize for that March 26 article within seven days or face legal action, according to news reports and a copy of the notice reviewed by CPJ.

On Thursday morning, Shams appeared before a Dhaka court and was denied bail, according to news reports. Authorities had not arrested Rahman or the camera operator as of Thursday evening, Sharif said.

“Bangladesh authorities’ harassment of staff members with the Prothom Alo newspaper and the arrest of correspondent Shamsuzzaman Shams under the draconian Digital Security Act are clear attempts to quash critical reporting,” said Carlos Martinez de la Serna, CPJ’s program director. “Authorities must immediately release Shams and cease abusing the legal process against journalists, which produces a chilling effect on the media.”

That March 26 article and a post on Facebook briefly used a child’s photo to accompany a quote from an adult laborer about price hikes; the outlet swiftly removed the Facebook post and re-published the article on its website and Facebook page with a correction.

The investigation opened Wednesday night by the Ramna police station in Dhaka was sparked by a complaint by Abdul Malek, a lawyer who said the accused had used “print, online and electronic media to tarnish the image and reputation of the state” and displayed that erroneous image. When reached by phone, Malek told CPJ that he stood by the allegations in the complaint, and the journalists should be punished for their work “against the independence” of the country.

Police are investigating the accused under three sections of the Digital Security Act pertaining to the transmission or publication of offensive, false, or threatening information; publication or transmission of information that deteriorates law and order; and abetment, according to the first information report.

The first two offenses can carry a prison sentence of three to seven years and fines of 300,000 taka to 500,000 taka (US$2,797 to $4,662), according to the law, which says abetment can carry the same punishment as committing an offense itself.

CPJ called and messaged Abu Ansar, the investigating officer in the case, and Roy Niyati, a Dhaka metropolitan police spokesperson, for comment, but did not receive any replies.

CPJ called the phone number listed for Biswas in his legal notice, but received an error message. CPJ was unable to immediately find other contact information for him.

In February, CPJ joined civil society organizations in a letter calling on Bangladesh to cease the judicial harassment of Prothom Alo special correspondent Rozina Islam, who faces an ongoing investigation under the colonial-era Official Secrets Act and the penal code in apparent retaliation for reporting on alleged corruption in the public health sector at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Erik Crouch.

The journalists are all freelancers, except for Shibli who is the editor of news website The Kashmiriyat. 

Police seized electronic devices including laptops, mobiles phone, memory cards, and pen-drives during the raids, the statement added. The home of Adil Pandit, a lawyer representing imprisoned journalist Aasif Sultan, was also raided, The Telegraph said. 

Police said they raided the homes of the journalists in an investigation into a militant group that threatened other members of the media. One of the journalists whose home was raided told CPJ on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal, that he is not linked to any militant group, and that he believes is being targeted for his critical reporting. 

At least two journalists whose homes were raided have been subject to official scrutiny in the past. In February, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Geelani, who went underground. Authorities raided Shibli’s home in August 2021.  

The recent raids came after police in Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir, said in a November 16 Twitter statement that they had initiated an investigation into online threats against journalists allegedly made by militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba and The Resistance Front, which police described as a Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot. 

According to The Telegraph, the threats were made on a blog, KashmirFight.com, against 21 journalists “allegedly working for the State [of India]”; the blog called the journalists “stooges” and “traitors.” The Telegraph said that most of the journalists named are employed at three Srinagar news outlets — newspapers Greater Kashmir and Rising Kashmir and news website Asian News Network. CPJ emailed the three outlets but did not receive an immediate response. 

CPJ could not locate the threatening post on KashmirFight.com. 

The blog has issued threats in the past. In June 2018, the blog said Rising Kashmir Editor Shujaat Bukhari “betray[ed] the Kashmir struggle”; 11 days later the journalist was killed, according to news reports. In October 2020, the blog issued a similar threat to 39 Kashmiri journalists, accusing them of being “Indian agents,” CPJ documented.

CPJ sent requests for comment to Dilbag Singh, director-general of the Jammu and Kashmir police, via messaging app but did not receive a response. 

This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.